It's not you it's me
So the Oilers have now landed themselves in year 3 of the no playoffs club. Same ‘ol same ‘ol – same results. Most fans, disappointed that we will not see a run for the cup are already looking for Craig MacTavish to be fired. Others are saying that he has the job for as long as he wants it and is going to stick around for a few more years. Even the owner has rang in and told everyone (via text message) that MacT is not going anywhere!
So I guess MacTavish is staying…right?
Think again.
Who cares if Darryl Katz sent his buddy in the media a text saying that MacT is not going anywhere. Kevin Lowe got up the next day with an “explanation” telling us that Katz is a passionate fan and he was reacting to negativity, etc, etc. So analyze that press conference for a second. What does this all mean?
My thoughts? MacTavish may still be gone if Lowe talks him into putting in his notice.
As an organization you would have to be retarded to not be looking at a coaching change. How can you sell the coaching staff to the players on the ice after 3 years of not making the playoffs? You can’t. A change for the players has to be made. The only other option is get rid of all the guys you feel are not buying into whatever system the coaches are coaching. To do that you would have to trade half the team because all the players took more than a few nights off this season.
The biggest thing here is not necessarily that MacTavish is doing a poor job. He is considered an elite coach in the NHL and if fired today, he would have a job in another NHL city tomorrow if he wanted it. The issue here is just that the players, fans, and other management will feel that a fresh set of lungs is needed at this point.
It is like the Ron Wilson example in San Jose. Ron Wilson is an excellent coach. Look at what he has done in Toronto. He turned that team around and I think they will be competitive next year. He was not necessarily doing a poor job in San Jose but when Joe Thorton was asked why they are better without Ron Wilson and was he fired because the room stopped listening to him, Joe’s answer was interesting.
“It was not that we stopped listening to Ron, it was that we just needed a new voice to yell at us.”
The Oil need a new voice, even if MacT is buddies with the owner. Even if he is an excellent coach.
So is MacT gone? Yes. He has to be! I see no other option.
What I see is that he will thank Darryl for the text message to 630 Ched and thank Kevin for the opportunity all these years but then will respectfully decline the “offer” of not going anywhere and resign for personal and professional reasons. You see, we have to ask ourselves the other question – Does MacTavish even want to stay? Maybe he is tired of the kids on his team not listening. Maybe he is tired of no “Hossa-like” RFAs coming to Edmonton. Maybe he is tired of the fans constantly being negative, not realizing how lucky they are to have an NHL team in their city, not realizing how good of a coach he is. Maybe he is tired of the bipolar media. When the team is winning he is a genius. When they lose the media prints negative, character-bashing articles in the local paper trying to run him out of town because they think that is what the public wants to hear. It makes for good reading after all and you sell papers that way. We are not so great you know. Maybe MacT is too good for us.
I am tired of watching the Oilers kill off a 5-on-3 only to hear nothing from the fans. They sit on their hands as if to say “That’s right you killed it off – do better next time and get a shortie.”
If I were him I would land a job Florida or somewhere hot like that and enjoy my last few working years before I retire. Why put up with the crap?
So that is what I think will happen. MacT resigns and they bring in someone like Rob Daum for coach.
If not and they keep it the same, they will get the same results. Wait… I said that last year. Weird.
So I guess MacTavish is staying…right?
Think again.
Who cares if Darryl Katz sent his buddy in the media a text saying that MacT is not going anywhere. Kevin Lowe got up the next day with an “explanation” telling us that Katz is a passionate fan and he was reacting to negativity, etc, etc. So analyze that press conference for a second. What does this all mean?
My thoughts? MacTavish may still be gone if Lowe talks him into putting in his notice.
As an organization you would have to be retarded to not be looking at a coaching change. How can you sell the coaching staff to the players on the ice after 3 years of not making the playoffs? You can’t. A change for the players has to be made. The only other option is get rid of all the guys you feel are not buying into whatever system the coaches are coaching. To do that you would have to trade half the team because all the players took more than a few nights off this season.
The biggest thing here is not necessarily that MacTavish is doing a poor job. He is considered an elite coach in the NHL and if fired today, he would have a job in another NHL city tomorrow if he wanted it. The issue here is just that the players, fans, and other management will feel that a fresh set of lungs is needed at this point.
It is like the Ron Wilson example in San Jose. Ron Wilson is an excellent coach. Look at what he has done in Toronto. He turned that team around and I think they will be competitive next year. He was not necessarily doing a poor job in San Jose but when Joe Thorton was asked why they are better without Ron Wilson and was he fired because the room stopped listening to him, Joe’s answer was interesting.
“It was not that we stopped listening to Ron, it was that we just needed a new voice to yell at us.”
The Oil need a new voice, even if MacT is buddies with the owner. Even if he is an excellent coach.
So is MacT gone? Yes. He has to be! I see no other option.
What I see is that he will thank Darryl for the text message to 630 Ched and thank Kevin for the opportunity all these years but then will respectfully decline the “offer” of not going anywhere and resign for personal and professional reasons. You see, we have to ask ourselves the other question – Does MacTavish even want to stay? Maybe he is tired of the kids on his team not listening. Maybe he is tired of no “Hossa-like” RFAs coming to Edmonton. Maybe he is tired of the fans constantly being negative, not realizing how lucky they are to have an NHL team in their city, not realizing how good of a coach he is. Maybe he is tired of the bipolar media. When the team is winning he is a genius. When they lose the media prints negative, character-bashing articles in the local paper trying to run him out of town because they think that is what the public wants to hear. It makes for good reading after all and you sell papers that way. We are not so great you know. Maybe MacT is too good for us.
I am tired of watching the Oilers kill off a 5-on-3 only to hear nothing from the fans. They sit on their hands as if to say “That’s right you killed it off – do better next time and get a shortie.”
If I were him I would land a job Florida or somewhere hot like that and enjoy my last few working years before I retire. Why put up with the crap?
So that is what I think will happen. MacT resigns and they bring in someone like Rob Daum for coach.
If not and they keep it the same, they will get the same results. Wait… I said that last year. Weird.
posted by Pete at
2:21 PM
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